


Nuances.

by DoodleDuds



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Battle, Character Death, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, MORE LATER PROMISE, Needles, Other, Overdose, TF2 OC, Violence, mentioned overdose
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 16:35:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18102302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoodleDuds/pseuds/DoodleDuds
Summary: HONEST TO GOD... I'm just goofing around but hopefully this will be more than one fuukin chapter. This was inspired by a friends TF2 OC and I love them both dearly- by both I mean both the individual and their oc. All of their ocs. BUT THIS ONES FOR A PARTCULAR ONE SO go off I guessMEGA INSPO... Hopefully I'll be able to write this to completion because I've got some ideas I've been meaning to throw in and some lore I've got to cover. Anyway. Thank you if you read this, I'll probably just be freewriting and not editing these (I don't get a lot of time to do this) haha.





	1. Prologue

Howling. Not like a wolf, something more malicious. Empty. The wind, maybe, thought Adelheid as she stood in the intel room, staring at the gaping hole that had suddenly appeared before her and wondering just how she had gotten where she was. Well, she knew that, but thinking in a more figurative sense how she _got here_. _Why_ she was here. Why the hole was here, too. And as she stood there she came to the awful, frightening, no, _terrifying_ realization that she wasn’t- couldn’t be- in the RED base. Not even in Teufort, now that she thought about it. Where _was_ she?  
  
“Hallo? Papa?”, voice shaking, slightly, a stark contrast to the…less emotional reaction to the situation she’d had earlier. He was gone. She didn’t know it, not now, but she would later. The memories leading up to here were fuzzy, and it hurt to think about. She couldn’t have been here long, right?

“Wo sind Sie?”  
  
No answer. Thinking back to what had happened before all of this, Adelheid laughed, somewhat bitterly, but it had a semblance of nostalgia. Before. Yes, let’s try that. Before.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW THIS CHAPTERS SHORT.... INTRO CHAPTER.... IGNORE HOW SHORT THIS IS IM SPLITTING IT INTO what may or may not be coherent parts haha THIS IS GONNA BE A STUPID SHITTY RIDE. THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK
> 
> LANGUAGE NOTES (in case you need em. lemme know if you want them after every chapter!):  
> * Hallo: Hello  
> * Wo sind Sie?: Where are you?


	2. Recall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going back to before. Domonique recalls several things, mostly the day of her arrival in Teufort. Wowza.

“-It ain’t the most bustlin’ of towns but I gotta admit, it sure is nice. Nice to see a new face ‘round here too. How’re you settlin’ in darlin’?”  
  
“…Ich bin gut, danke.”, Adelheid replied to the Texan, pausing to clear her throat, a habit she’d picked up from her father during long nights of explanations overlooking countless surgeries. “I’m settling in alright, thank you.”  
  
“Well, that’s good to hear! I’ll let the doc here introduce you to the other fellas now; reckon I’ll stop talking your ear off.”  
  
“Yes, danke Engineer,” sounded the aforementioned doctor, placing his hand on Adelheid’s shoulder, “We appreciate it. Good night!”  
  
As they walked away from the shorter man and towards the poker table, Adelheid found herself fidgeting with the hem of her blouse. One introduction she could handle, but _seven_ more? Things were already getting awkward and she just _knew_ her father didn’t want her here. Why would he?  
  
“Und this is Herr Sp- Heidi, Liebes?”  
  
“Ja?”  
  
Clearing his throat, the doctor continued with his explanation his daughter hadn’t _quite_ been paying attention to. Oops.  
  
“This is Herr Spy, Schätzchen. “  
  
Looking him up and down, he didn’t seem all that impressive- lanky, snooty and very high maintenance, she noticed. Putting on a smile, motioning vaguely, she offered a simple greeting.  
  
“Hello...“  
  
“Charmed.“, the Frenchman spat, giving the young girl a look of what could only be interpreted as disgust. He hated children, she recalled, thinking of the occasional letters she received from her father before her arrival. Huh.

 

And then there was the Heavy. She’d heard of him, too. She’d heard of everyone, of course, but the way her father described him stood at the forefront of her mind from the moment he’d mentioned that he would be introducing her to everyone. The Heavy and the Engineer seemed, according to her father, to be the only two people on the base who weren’t _complete_ imbeciles. Dell was nice, at least.  
  
“Doktor’s little girl! Heavy didn’t think would be so little, though! “, he said, followed by a bout of thunderous laughter that Adelheid thought was just a tad too loud.   
  
„Haha.... “, Adelheid followed weakly, „I didn’t think you would be so big...! “  
  
„Is okay, little girl. Everyone little to Heavy. Even Doktor,“ he continued, clapping Medic on the shoulder, chuckling to himself.  
  
That’s generally how the rest of the introductions went; Medic introducing her to the next one, them saying something, asking how she was settling in, she responding with an attempt to remain enthusiastic, then on to the next member. First impressions? She thought Heavy was alright. Her dad seemed to enjoy his company, which was nice. Scout... she’d rather not think about Scout. The Pyro was much less impressive than her father had made him out to be in the letters, all things considered. She’d expected a monster, someone capable of murder, destruction, etc. yet all she received was a butterfly chasing...what were they? _Who_ were they? She didn’t know for sure. _Nobody_ seemed to know, actually. Dell was alright, too, the complete opposite from Spy. She knew they wouldn’t get along well, judging from the bad start they had earlier. The Sniper seemed fine too, albeit antisocial. She could respect that.

The Soldier was _loud._ Louder than expected. No, scratch that, _annoyingly loud._ She’d expected some sort of push back from him, but when he literally tried to _wrestle_ her to the ground as a form of hello? She was _not_ expecting _that_. Her father almost _murdered_ Jane, then, she recalled, giggling to herself. What a night. She couldn’t remember anything else.

  
The weeks following that night of her arrival were uneventful- at least for her, with the mercs all running around on the battlefield like they were made, _built_ for that specific purpose. The team worked like a well-oiled machine despite their numerous differences and it was... inspiring. Impossible. Yet there they were. Adelheid found herself thinking that she wasn’t doing enough, that she wasn’t enough, didn’t need to be where she was, wasn’t _wanted._ She cleared that particular issue up with her father during the third week of her residence. The argument was a long one, filled with tears and screaming, her lashing out for his years absent and he just... _taking_ it. That is, until she included the detail that she enjoyed her uncle’s company more than his. She _meant_ it to hurt, _wanted_ him to understand how _she_ felt, but she hadn’t meant it to hurt _that_ bad. Her father, god, she remembers, her father _cried_. Snapped, even, punishing her by sending her to her room without any dinner. Of course, he came back like a kicked dog, bringing her a plate of food late into the night, she feeling equally harmed from the presence of the food and the expression on his face. It was then she knew he cared, that he wanted her here. They talked it through then, staying up for what seemed like _hours_ to her and only minutes to him. It wasn’t her favorite memory, but the conversation helped, at least. They both needed it.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LANGUAGE NOTES:  
> *Ich bin gut, danke : I've been well, thank you.  
> *Danke: Thank you  
> *Und: And  
> *Liebes : Love  
> *Ja: Yes  
> *Herr: Mr. (roughly?)  
> * Schätzchen: Sweetie


	3. Firsts, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> QUICK CHAPTER BEFORE IT GOES DOWN... not really. It might not go down. But. Morning time.

The first few weeks were uneventful, right. One particular week after what her father now jokingly refers to as her ‘Grace Period‘ Adelheid introduced the idea of joining the battles she had previously been observing. “Gruesome, sure, “ she had mentioned to him, “but _exciting_ , no?“  
  
He had laughed to himself then, saying something like “That’s my girl“ underneath his breath. Then he furrowed his brow and began to lecture her about the dangers of what his job entailed.

“I’ve seen the technology you have on the field, Papa. It isn’t that big of a deal, you know, -“ she began, only to be cut off by the doctor seconds after.  
  
“The technology doesn’t matter, Suße, _you_ matter. I am _not_ going to put you in any situation that would allow me to _lose you again_ , do you understand? “  
  
Subjects like this were always sensitive for him. They both knew that. Medic tried to control his emotions, wrangle them in like he so effortlessly did with his experiments, but when it was with _her..._   


Looking into her face during moments like these reminded him of someone else he lost. The good doctor found it difficult to find the logical side of situations during those moments.    
  
“I understand. But I know I can do this! I have to do _something_ around the base, “ she responded, “I get bored, you know. The technology can- _does_ \- keep people alive, Vater, _you_ keep people alive. I would like to try to as well. “  
  
The next morning as Ludwig was preparing for battle, he woke Adelheid. It had occurred to him that he had spare equipment on hand in the lab the night prior, after things had settled down. If she wanted to do this, he supposed... he’d have to keep an eye on her.   
  
“GOOOOOD MORNING, LADIES!“ Soldier said, announcing his presence to the locker room.  
  
“Is he...always this loud?“ questioned Adelheid, standing near her father’s locker as he tended to some last minute preparations.  
  
“Oh, ja,“ He replied, back turned to her. “You’ll get used to it, Schatz. He means well. “  
  
“ Tut er es aber? “  
  
That got a laugh out of him. Then, he paused, rifling through his things and produced a headset to her, explaining how to use it. “This will allow you to communicate with the team if you happen to get separated,“ he said, Adelheid reaching for the item before he yanked his hand back out of her reach, before following with a stern, “ _Don’t plan on that._ “  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHORT CHAPTER GOD
> 
> LANGUAGE NOTES:
> 
> *Vater: Father,Dad  
> *Schatz: sweetheart  
> *Tut er es aber?: Does he though?


	4. Firsts, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...it goes down. just a little

the ubercharge hitting her at full force, causing her to stagger and double over, near falling, when the medi-gun had come on. She was acutely aware of two things: One, the presence of her father, who was now ubercharging her without any prior warning, just ahead of her and hectically urging her to _move, go,_ do _something_ , and Two: She _had_ been separated from the team.   
  
“ _Fuck,_ “ she had thought to herself, “ _I’m going to die._ “  


And truly up until that moment she _was_. Separated from the team with nothing but a syringe gun to protect herself. Ludwig didn’t want her getting too close to the enemy, he’d mentioned, and as such he only provided her with a ranged weapon.   
  
At first when she had been separated she wasn’t aware of it, her team only a few feet away from her, but when her father had left for a moment telling her not to move, going to heal their Sniper who had gotten hit a few times, she heard the noise of the same gun she had been given the run-down on and looked over to find her father- no, the _other_ version of him, the terribly _wrong_ version of him- approaching her at a speed she wasn’t at _all_ comfortable with. She began to move, ignoring what her father had said, trying to get to the team, but he had her cornered. He wasn’t _with_ anyone, which was strange to her, but as he got closer, she realized there was a _reason_ he was alone. He was coming for her. He _needed_ to see her up close. She ran. She was taking enemy fire, not just from him, and she _ran._  
  
He was _fast._ She had forgotten how fast her own father could be, he always letting her win races as a child, but he _was fast._ She wasn’t certain what his copy wanted from her, but she’d been warned of him and she knew better not to approach a man with that glint in his eyes. She’d seen it in her father once, a look of sheer, frightening curiosity and a predatoral intensity that made her sick to her stomach now that it was directed at her.  
  
She was cornered, after all. Her father- no, again, _not_ her father- had her cornered and he was not letting her go.  
  
“Ooohoohoho, Schatz! Look at how tall you’ve gotten,“, he had said, his words not at all matching his tone, his laugh a deep and guttural one, more similar to an animal than a human, “How I’ve missed you!“  
  
Something had clicked in her then- this was a _game._ He was playing with her, experimenting, seeing just how _far_ he could take this in the time that he had. She felt like throwing up. She’d never seen her father like this.  
  
“You- Y- Du bist _nicht_ mein Vater.“  
  
Her choice of words frustrated the other doctor, and it showed. He was going to pounce, and she knew it. He smiled a smile that was just a little too large, something that made her shudder, and he was about to speak, to tell her his true intentions behind being so needlessly close to her and she wanted to _run._ Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to _move, now,_ but she found herself frozen in place, mind flitting to the thought of her father finding her in the kitchen late at night, she equally as frozen then as she was now but this was _different,_ this was _not_ the man she was familiar with, not even a man now that she had a moment to think about it, -

  
But then it had started. Her pulse, the movement of her heart rapid and her mind dangerously close to the edge of something primal, something only those who’ve experienced it can explain. She feels powerful, so powerful she believes in that moment that death is escapable. The electric hum and the warmth of what she could only imagine is the ubercharge her father mentioned earlier enveloping her, Adelheid finds that she feels alive. More alive than she thought was possible, so alive that she could do anything, be anyone. And yet, at the same time, she knows that she could only ever be herself, her father felling his copy with ease, yelling something she can’t recall, and then her, _slaughtering_ enemies one by one in a mad frenzy like something out of a horror novel. She’s on the outside looking in, almost, feeling both completely in control and utterly out of it. The high is _amazing_ , and it’s over as quickly as it started, the _thrill_ and _hum_ and _scream_ of it _still_ in her veins. She can feel it. It seems like her father did too, now that she’s more aware of her surroundings outside of the immediate. They both burst into laughter, riding out the high of a good day’s work- she hadn’t noticed the match was over already. RED won- no, she won. They won. Her and her father, she can so clearly picture it, taking the last few kills as their own. To hell with everyone else, she was a god. And so they laugh, both out of relief and pride in each other, almost clinging to each other as they listened to the final announcement over the loudspeakers. They _won_.   
  
“I am so sorry, Süße-“  
  
“Nein, nein, Mir geht es gut! I, -“ Dominique responds, before erupting into a fit of laughter, “What _was_ that?“  
  
“Ah, the first Uber is always the most powerful- und you took it so well! Ach, Taube, “ Ludwig happily explains, before his face falls in concern, “You could have died just then.“  
  
“But I didn’t! Und look at you! That was _amazing, Papa!_ “  
  
“Aah, well. Congratulations on your first game won Kamerad!“  
  
The team had then spent the evening laughing and drinking, rejoicing in their victory, and Medic had hoisted Adelheid onto his shoulders- against her initial protests- and paraded her around the base, saying how _proud_ of her he was, how _wonderful_ she had done that day. She was sent to bed early and quickly fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I STOPPED DOIGN THE LANGUAGE NOTES LEMME KNOW IF YOU WANT EM
> 
> THIS CHAPTER IS ALSO SHORT....


	5. Haven't we been here before?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Searching. Domonique is searching for someone, anyone- but is anyone looking for her?
> 
> In which I write the shortest chapter yet and pretend like this is Fine

Present day. The hole. The base, no, not a base. Like her ‘not-father’. A ‘not-base’. It had been quite some time since her first encounter with the BLU medic and it was certainly not her last. In the weeks following he unceasingly hunted her down in the battlefield, seemingly desperate to get his hands on her. At the time, she didn’t _exactly_ know why, merely had a semblance of an idea that grew into a strong, burning, unending hatred. Of course, there were a few moments where she got her revenge, made him feel the same fear that he had stoked within her during that first battle she and her team had only just barely won. She wasn’t quite sure if the BLU medic _could_ feel fear- if he could feel anything. But she had heard him scream, _made_ him scream, and that was enough. Even if it was just once. But, for now, the hole. Snapping to attention, realizing she had allowed her thoughts to wander perhaps just a little too far. Focus. Breathe. Where was she?  
  
Not in the BLU base, no, she’d come to recognize it during her time with her father. Somewhere similar, somewhere so achingly similar to her own base yet entirely different. Something was _wrong_. Something she couldn’t yet put her finger on, and yet…  
  
She walked into the hole. Or, through it, rather, the size of the thing engulfing her body, and she calling out with a wavering confidence she hadn’t entirely conjured up yet. Through it. Through the hole.   
  
Everything was…white. Blinking, the harsh contrast between where she had been and where she currently was straining on her eyes. She noticed that, no, not _everything_ was white, there were a few stray crayons on the floor. It wasn’t as if she had walked outside or into Dell’s lab- somewhere she _should_ have been capable of getting into based on where the hole was, where she might have been- everything, _everything_ was white. There were no defining outlines of the desk and workbench that should have been right in front of her, no Dell, and she could almost imagine her father sleeping in the space, waiting for her to wake him after a long night’s work with the engineer. He was _gone_. Everyone was gone. Or, maybe, Adelheid was gone. She couldn’t say. No defining outlines, she thought, just… white. It was uncanny, confusing, and _god,_ her head _hurt. Everything hurt._  
  
“…Hallo...? Papa? Engineer? Heavy?”  
  
No answer. Nothing but that deep, ominous howl, now at a lower constant pitch than before now that she was on the other side of whatever she had walked through. What did she walk through, again? She couldn’t remember anything now, she realized, nothing prior to being here, standing here in this… _void._ Floating, even, if she tried. Rules had no reason to be here, didn’t apply. Was she dreaming?  
  
Picking up a crayon, she wrote a message on the paper that was conveniently beside it when she’d looked again. “Ich werde dich finden. Wenn Sie das finden, bevor ich Sie finde, bitte wissen Sie, ich bin hier, Vater. Ich suche nach dir. Wo sind wir? Was ist das?“, it read. Signing it and quickly drawing a caricature of herself on the bottom left hand corner, she placed it gently on the floor.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Ich werde dich finden. Wenn Sie das finden, bevor ich Sie finde, bitte wissen Sie, ich bin hier, Vater. Ich suche nach dir. Wo sind wir? Was ist das?“
> 
> "I am going to find you. If you find this before I find you, please know that I am here, father. I am looking for you. Where are we? What is this?"
> 
> (or, rather, a brief letter than I wrote because I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO WRITE THANSK THOUGH)


	6. Breathing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short conversation between two old..friends. Hah.

“I like to think that letting you live was the nicest deed I ever did. Do you disagree?”  
  
“Halt den Mund.”

“I thought you were a stronger man than this, Doctor. It’s funny, really, I’ve never seen you _this_ put out.”

“I know.”  
  
The older German’s shoulders sagged, the full weight of his neglect slowly settling in.  
  
“You know what has to be done, Ludwig. I would’ve thought you’d learn your lesson by now,” the Devil sneered, shifting his weight onto his desk. “But you are _predictable._ Now,” he continued, pausing to raise his eyebrow at the doctor, calculating how much he could get out of this, “We’re referring to _two_ lives here, Doctor. That’s going to cost you more than it did last time. Of course, you could alwa- “  
  
“Nein!” came the sharp response, the Medic snapping and standing abruptly, “Ich verlasse sie _nicht_! Nicht noch einmal. You know that. “  
  
The Devil only chuckled in response, fully expecting the doctor to go to such lengths to revive himself. It was fun, this game they played. Often frustrating, but _fun_.  
  
“Where is she? “  
  
“Hm?“ followed the Devil, egging the doctor on.  
  
“Mein- my daughter. Where is she? “  
  
“I’m sure she’s quite comfortable where she is now. You needn’t worry about that, Ludwig. “  
  
“Two. “  
  
An incredulous look, the Devil now directing his full attention to the doctor, and then a scoff.  
  
“Is that your _final_ offer? This isn’t something you can just _wish away._ There _will_ be consequences. “  
  
“Well, what would you suggest? Isn’t seeing her die enough for me? Wasn’t that enough? “  
  
“I would like to imagine that seeing all of those patients die was enough as well, then, if your logic stands. “  
  
“Bah! “ the doctor growled out, becoming angry. Time didn’t work here like it did there. Heavens knows where Adelheid was, how time was there. The possibilities made him anxious. How long was she stuck where she was? He was running out of time- no, he didn’t _have_ time. Something the older doctor wasn’t used to compared to having so, _so_ much of it prior to her death. “What do you want? “  
  
“You _know_ what I want, Ludwig. You’ve really done it this time, you know. “

“...four. Four souls. That’s double my previous offer. “  
  
“You still have some to spare. “  
  
“You can find another way to get those! Judging by how this went I’m _positive_ you’ll have them by the end of my natural lifespan, before that even! Now- I _fully_ expect- “  
  
“It will be done, “ the Devil interrupted, waving his hand. “Go. “  
  
And so, taking a step forward, the doctor did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halt den Mund: "Shut up"  
> Ich verlasse sie nicht. Nicht noch einmal.: "I am not leaving her. Not again."


	7. UPDATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> update sfdfdsfds

HELLO I am going to be updating and reposting all of the chapters with an updated format (AKA IM GONNA BE REPLACING ALL MENTIONS OF "Domonique" WITH EITHER "Adelheid" OR A NICK NAME VERSION OF IT DUE TO PERSONAL REASONS AND ALSO becuase I cant just write a new chapter and change the thing altogether only for that sjlklsjkjlsfk I would confuse myself


	8. Wake up.

It was dark. Very dark. No, darker than what would be normal, as if he’d awoken from something inhuman. Gradually, it faded, of course, and the doctor found that he was staring at the night sky. Not just at the night sky, at the _stars_. A view he could only have seen were he alive. Shaking his head and getting his bearings, he stood, removing the needle from his arm. Overdoses were messy. He needed to clean up.  
  
Meanwhile, Adelheid was waking up. She could only see the steel beam rafters of the operating room, the white she was becoming used to fading away into her present setting. She had fallen asleep after walking for what seemed like hours, finding nothing, going in circles- and eventually giving up. She sat up, seeing stars of her own and nearly falling over when she realized how light headed she was.

“Ach…. Mein- Oh, Hallo Archimedes, “ she said in a gravelly voice, as if she hadn’t used it in eons. “Wo ist Papa?”  
  
No answer of course, other than a coo and a head tilt, as was customary for the bird. She never understood how her father had _conversations_ with these birds. He’d be back soon, hopefully. She didn’t feel very well.


End file.
